This invention relates to cable tools; and more particularly relates to a novel and improved hand-held coaxial cable stripper for removing one or more layers from an end of a cable to facilitate connection of a selected fitting to the end of the cable.
Currently, there exist a number of different sizes and types of coaxial cables and cable fittings. This presents a problem in the field when a cable is of a different size than the stripping tool is adapted to cut. This results in having to carry multiple stripping tools adapted to cut different sized cables. Further, this also results in having to purchase a number of different sizes of stripping tools to conform to various sized cables. There exist a number of multi-purpose coaxial cable tools, for example, my U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,944 for MULTI-PURPOSE COAXIAL CABLE TOOL. The multi-purpose cable tools are versatile yet they do not provide for precise incremental adjustment of the cutting depth. There also exist coaxial cable strippers which may be adjusted to control the cutting length or cutting depth of the blades, such as, U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,638 to Liaw, but this stripping tool does not allow for incremental and precise adjustment of the cutting depth. In preparing a coaxial cable end, the length of the outer jacket is stripped from the cable end as well as a second length of the braided connector and insulator to expose the leading end of the inner conductor. A portion of the braided conductor is folded back over the leading edge of the dielectric outer jacket. It is critical to have proper preparation of the cable end to assure that a sealed connection is made with the fitting. In the case of coaxial cables, a dual cutting or stripping action is required in removing different layers from the end of the cable, and the thickness or depth of cut will vary with different cable sizes and types. There is an increasing demand for a lightweight, versatile stripping tool that will strip different sized cables in a precise and accurate manner. It is also important to have a hand-held device which is easy to use. If the depth of cut is incorrect, this could result in an improper connection with the fitting. Specifically, it is desirable to have an adjustable stripping tool to carry out manual stripping on a variety of different-sized cables.